The Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Defense Zukan Helez and his colleagues met with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoan at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Helez said that he sees Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multi-ethnic community of all citizens and peoples in which all its citizens will be free and equal at every step of the way, regardless of religious and national affiliation, and will live from their work.
During the meeting, Helez informed Geoana about the achievements of the BiH Ministry of Defense, including the consolidation of the budget, the stabilization of the public procurement process, the strengthening of the equipment of the Demining Battalion, and activities within the Defense Capacity Building Initiative (DCB).
During the meeting, Helez pointed out that the trainers of the Armed Forces of BiH, according to the Concept of Operational Capabilities (OCC), are engaged to a significant extent as evaluators in partner countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Colombia.
Also, Helez introduced Geoana to the activities of the Armed Forces of BiH within the OCC&OF concept, noting that the Armed Forces of BiH, when declaring the Light Battalion Group, achieved excellent results during the evaluation. Through the OCC&OF concept, the degree of interoperability of the Armed Forces of BiH with NATO forces has been significantly increased, which is crucial in the context of BiH’s aspiration to join the Euro-Atlantic integration and to improve the interoperability of the Armed Forces of BiH and NATO.
Helez used the opportunity to thank NATO for its political, diplomatic and practical support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the last few years.
“While NATO is celebrating 75 years since its founding, we in Bosnia and Herzegovina are celebrating 20 years of cooperation with the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo. We are grateful for the journey we have made, the valuable experiences and the status that Bosnia and Herzegovina has achieved as a partner in the Action Plan for membership,” said Helez.
To the Deputy Secretary General of NATO Geoanai, the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina proposed the improvement of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO, the strengthening of the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the increased presence of NATO forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would be a means of deterring potential aggression from external actors, and the strengthening of the NATO headquarters. in Sarajevo and increased cooperation and coordination between NATO and the EU.
“I am especially glad that Mr. Geoana underlined that NATO closely monitors events in our country and that there will be no vacuum or hesitation in NATO’s reaction to those events. Only our country’s membership in NATO ensures long-term peace, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country, but also the stability of the region,” said Helez.
At the end of the meeting, Helez expressed the hope that Geoana, within her position, will insist on the most effective implementation of the DCB project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining high standards and readiness, so that the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to the domestic ones, could participate more extensively in international NATO, EU or UN missions, Federalna writes.
